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Case Reports
. 2021 Mar 12:22:e929599.
doi: 10.12659/AJCR.929599.

Migrated Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filter Strut: A Rare Cause of Chronic Distal Pancreatitis with Likely Malignant Transformation

Abdel Rahman A Al Manasra  1 , Ra'fat A Tawalbeh  1 , Doaa I Al-Qaoud  2 , Mahmoud H Ayesh  3 , Mamoon H Al-Omari  4 , Tarek Manasreh  5 , Jehad Fataftah  6
Affiliations
Case Reports

Migrated Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filter Strut: A Rare Cause of Chronic Distal Pancreatitis with Likely Malignant Transformation

Abdel Rahman A Al Manasra et al. Am J Case Rep. .

Abstract

BACKGROUND Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters are indicated for patients with recurrent venous thrombosis despite proper anticoagulation or whenever anticoagulation is contraindicated. IVC filter deployment is an invasive procedure with various complications. One example is IVC filter limb fracture and migration, which is associated with significant morbidity and/or mortality. Extravascular migration toward pancreas may induce pancreatitis. Patients with chronic pancreatitis are known to have an increased risk of pancreatic malignancy. CASE REPORT We report an extremely rare case of IVC filter fractured limb in 44-year-old woman, which had migrated into the pancreatic tail and manifested as chronic distal pancreatitis. A pancreatic adenocarcinoma was found by biopsy at the pancreas tail. It is likely that a foreign body promoted this metaplasia and neoplastic transformation. CONCLUSIONS Early detection and retrieval of a displaced foreign body in organs, such as the pancreas, seem to be essential to reduce risk of subsequent complications, including chronic inflammation and possibly neoplasia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared

Conflict of Interest

None.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
An enhanced CT scan (sagittal view) shows the main filter inside the inferior vena cava (yellow arrow).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
An enhanced CT scan (coronal view) shows the migrated (fractured) IVC filter limb inside the tail of the pancreas (yellow arrow).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
An enhanced CT scan (cross sectional view) shows pancreatic tail hypodensity (arrow) in the area surrounding the filter strut, containing a few cystic lesions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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